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Happy Earth Day!
Apr. 22nd, 2021 06:05 amLast week in the workplace coffee chat [a completely voluntary 30 minutes each week when employees can all get on a zoom call and chit-chat; it's ideal for people who enjoy the concept of connection but don't want to talk, because zoom makes it easy for one or two chatty people to carry the entire conversation], the topic of flowers came up.
Someone mentioned Bluebonnets, which led to several misunderstandings, as people variously thought they meant A) the vitamin brand (called Bluebonnet); B) the ice cream brand (actually called Blue Bunny); or C) hair bonnets that were blue. Such is the way of the coffee chat.
But then someone else mentioned lupins (and I learned from the internet today that lupins and bluebonnets are closely related, in that vague plant way where sometimes they are the same, but the names have been widely applied to a range of plants, so maybe they're not always the same), and I was like 'oh, I know those!'
Except they pronounced it with a 'pine' sound like pine tree, and I was assailed with doubt! I always thought it was a 'pin' sound like pinball!
Anyway, the internet seems to indicate that the most commonly accepted pronunciation is indeed lupin with a pin like pinball, but as with most things, it probably doesn't matter that much. Still, always a good idea to clarify whether you are going to a lupin (the flower) festival, or a lupine (wolf-themed) festival. Just a different vibe, really.
Someone mentioned Bluebonnets, which led to several misunderstandings, as people variously thought they meant A) the vitamin brand (called Bluebonnet); B) the ice cream brand (actually called Blue Bunny); or C) hair bonnets that were blue. Such is the way of the coffee chat.
But then someone else mentioned lupins (and I learned from the internet today that lupins and bluebonnets are closely related, in that vague plant way where sometimes they are the same, but the names have been widely applied to a range of plants, so maybe they're not always the same), and I was like 'oh, I know those!'
Except they pronounced it with a 'pine' sound like pine tree, and I was assailed with doubt! I always thought it was a 'pin' sound like pinball!
Anyway, the internet seems to indicate that the most commonly accepted pronunciation is indeed lupin with a pin like pinball, but as with most things, it probably doesn't matter that much. Still, always a good idea to clarify whether you are going to a lupin (the flower) festival, or a lupine (wolf-themed) festival. Just a different vibe, really.
